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Casino Giant Caesars Entertainment Reports Cyberattack; MGM Resorts Says Some Systems Still Down

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Casino company Caesars Entertainment on Thursday joined Las Vegas gambling rival MGM Resorts International in reporting that it was hit by a cyberattack, but added in a report to federal regulators that its casino and online operations were not disrupted.

Cesars owns and operates the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Baltimore.

The Reno-based publicly traded company told the federal Securities and Exchange Commission that it could not guarantee that personal information about tens of millions of customers was secure following a data breach Sept. 7 that may have exposed driver's license and Social Security numbers of loyalty rewards members.

"We have taken steps to ensure that the stolen data is deleted by the unauthorized actor," the company said, "although we cannot guarantee this result."

Brett Callow, threat analyst for the New Zealand-based cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said it was not clear if a ransom was paid or who was responsible for the intrusion - and for the attack reported Monday by MGM Resorts.

"Unofficially, we saw a group called Scattered Spider claimed responsibility," Callow said. "They appear to be native English speakers under the umbrella of a Russia-based operation called ALPHV or BlackCat."

Scattered Spider also is known as UNC3944, said Charles Carmakal, chief technical officer at cybersecurity firm Mandiant. He called the group "incredibly disruptive and aggressive" in recent targeting of hospitality and entertainment organizations.

"They leverage tradecraft that is challenging for many organizations with mature security programs to defend against," Carmakal said in a statement.

Mandiant said in a blog analysis published Thursday the group uses SMS text phishing and phone calls to help desks to attempt to obtain password resets or multifactor bypass codes.

"This relatively new entrant in the ransomware industry has hit at least 100 organizations, most of them in the U.S. And Canada," Mandiant said.

Caesars is the largest casino owner in the world, with more than 65 million Caesars Rewards members and properties in 18 states and Canada under the Caesars, Harrah's, Horseshoe and Eldorado brands. It also has mobile and online operations and sports betting. Company officials did not respond to emailed questions from The Associated Press.

The company told the SEC that loyalty program customers were being offered credit monitoring and identity theft protection.There was no evidence the intruder obtained member passwords or bank account and payment card information, the company reported, adding that operations at casinos and online "have not been impacted by this incident and continue without disruption."

The disclosure by Caesars came after MGM Resorts International, the largest casino company in Las Vegas, reported publicly on Monday that a cyberattack that it detected Sunday led it to shut down computer systems at its properties across the U.S. To protect data.

MGM Resorts said reservations and casino floors in Las Vegas and other states were affected. Customers shared stories on social media about not being able to make credit card transactions, obtain money from cash machines or enter hotel rooms. Some video slot machines were dark.

MGM Resorts has has about 40 million loyalty rewards members and tens of thousands of hotel rooms in Las Vegas at properties including the MGM Grand, Bellagio, Aria and Mandalay Bay. It also operates properties in China and Macau.A company report on Tuesday to the SEC pointed to its Monday news release. The FBI said an investigation was ongoing but offered no additional information.

Some MGM Resorts computer systems were still down Thursday, including hotel reservations and payroll. But company spokesman Brian Ahern said its 75,000 employees in the U.S. And abroad were expected to be paid on time.

Callow, speaking by telephone from British Columbia, Canada, called most media accounts of the incidents speculative because information appeared to be coming from the same entities that claim to have carried out the attacks. He said recovery from cyberattacks can take months.

Callow pointed to reports that he called "plausible" that Caesars Entertainment was asked to pay $30 million for a promise to secure its data and may have paid $15 million. He also noted that the company did not describe in the SEC report the steps taken to ensure that the stolen data was secure.

The highest ransom believed to have been paid to cyber-attackers was $40 million by insurance giant CNA Financial, Callow said, following a data breach in March 2021.

"In these cases, organizations basically pay to get a 'pinky promise,'" he said. "There is no way to actually know that (hackers) do delete (stolen data) or that it won't be used elsewhere."____Associated Press technology writer Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report.

Horseshoe Casino Loyalty Program Data Stolen In Cyberattack

HAMMOND — The parent company of the Horseshoe Casino alerted federal regulators Thursday that the personal information of a "significant number" of Caesars Rewards loyalty club members recently was copied and stolen in a cyberattack.

Caesars Entertainment Inc. Said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission it determined an outside actor acquired a copy of its Caesars Rewards database, including the driver's license numbers and/or Social Security numbers of many loyalty program members.

The Reno, Nevada-based gaming company said it's still investigating the extent of any additional personal or sensitive information contained in the files obtained by the hacker.

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However, Caesars said it has no evidence, to date, that any member passwords or personal identification numbers, bank account information or payment card information were stolen.

Caesars traced the intrusion to a "social engineering attack" on an outsourced information technology vendor used by the gaming company.

Unlike MGM Resorts, another casino company that also recently was hacked, Caesars said it's had no customer-facing disruptions, such as malfunctioning slot machines or hotel booking problems due to the cyber attack.

"While no company can ever eliminate the risk of a cyberattack, we believe we have taken appropriate steps, working with industry-leading third-party IT advisors, to harden our systems to protect against future incidents. These efforts are ongoing. We have also taken steps to ensure that the specific outsourced IT support vendor involved in this matter has implemented corrective measures to protect against future attacks that could pose a threat to our systems," Caesars said.

The company also indicates in the SEC filing it has "taken steps to ensure that the stolen data is deleted by the unauthorized actor, although we cannot guarantee this result."

Bloomberg News reported Thursday — citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter — that Caesars paid "tens of millions of dollars" to the "Scattered Spider" or "UNC 3944" group Bloomberg said was behind the attack.

Caesars said its monitoring of web traffic so far has found no evidence the stolen Caesars Rewards data has been further shared, published or otherwise misused.

Nevertheless, Caesars is offering credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to loyalty program members who enroll by calling 888-652-1580 between 8 a.M. And 8 p.M. Region time on weekdays.

"The trust of our valued guests and members is deeply important to us, and we regret any concern or inconvenience this may cause," Caesars said.

The Indiana Gaming Commission, which regulates the casino industry in the Hoosier State, confirmed Thursday it also has been alerted to the Caesars incident.

"Our focus has been on ensuring the integrity of gaming operations and the security of Indiana patrons' information," said Jenny Reske, IGC deputy director.

In addition to the Hammond Horseshoe, Caesars operates three other Indiana casinos: Harrah's Hoosier Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis outside the state's capital city, and Caesars Southern Indiana on the Ohio River.

Caesars also operates two suburban casinos in Illinois: Harrah's Joliet and the Grand Victoria in Elgin.

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Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch Officials Ask For Help Documenting

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - If you're not too busy burying yourself in the sand at some of our North Central Florida beaches, keep an eye out for some unique crabs.

September and October are horseshoe crab mating months, which is the most convenient time to collect data and track populations for scientists.

Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch officials are asking if you see this crustacean on the beach, snap a picture or record the tag number and upload the info HERE.

They say don't pick them up by their tail or remove their tag.

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